Wreck of Our Hearts
by jaybunzy0
Summary: Elena's awake but everything has changed. Damon is being controlled by something evil and no one has any idea on how to save him, including her. Plus, Kai may have had one more trick up his sleeve when he cast the Sleeping Beauty spell and no one expected it. (Post Season 7; Continued AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Wreck of Our Hearts**

 **Summary:** Elena's awake but everything has changed. Damon is being controlled by something evil and no one has any idea on how to save him, including her. Plus, Kai may have had one more trick up his sleeve when he cast the Sleeping Beauty spell and no one expected it. (Post Season 7; Continued AU)

 **Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.

 **A/N: Posting this to see what response it gets. All these videos and talk of Elena waking up has had me imagining my own version of things. Hope you like it! You can let me know with a review xx**

* * *

I smell blood.

It's practically infused into the place. Not to mention that there's splashes of it all over the vacant warehouse. Dried, old blood stains litter the floor and chunks of dead flesh still rest on hooks dangling from the ceilings. The bodies may have been disposed of but the horror that occurred here is clear and it's hard for me to digest. When I woke up from Kai's curse I expected to see Damon's face smiling down at me and for the two of us to begin our normal, mundane human lives together while I try to piece together everything I had missed. What I didn't expect was Stefan's face to be the first thing I saw and for the first thing that I do to be puking up blood.

Lots and lots of blood all over the oriental carpet that Damon loved.

They found a way around Kai's curse but lost our human future in the process. They paid some dark witch with some ancient artifact to stop Bonnie's heart—essentially killing her—and the curse was broken. It seemed too easy and it was. Kai always was ten steps ahead of us and he must have heard Damon's speech about being the father of my children because he took that choice away from us; took away that loft in Tribeca with our two kids and Damon owning a bar and me in medical school. Because when I awoke, it wasn't as the human girl I had been, but as the vampire I had thought I could never be again. The cure was out of my system, spilled onto the Oriental rug, and everything was back as it was. Well, almost everything.

Damon wasn't.

I think back to waking up in Damon's bedroom; my eyes traveling along the familiar ceiling and down until instead of landing on my favorite shade of blue, I was met with Stefan's expectant brows above his emerald green eyes. I hadn't even had time to process everything until the words that haunt me now were flying out of his mouth: _"Damon's in trouble."_ I shot up from the bed and as I went to speak—to ask what had gone so horribly wrong—the cure purged itself from my body. It started off as me puking up blood, then it pouring out from my nose and eyes—anywhere it could.

Stefan was horrified.

But me? My mind was spinning a million miles a minute. There was too much to focus on. What was happening to me? How long had I been gone? What was happening to Damon? Why was Caroline running into the room with a glistening diamond ring on her finger? So, I chose to focus on the most important thing. The whole reason they had risked everything to begin with.

" _What's going on with Damon?"_

My hands tuck themselves into my grey pea coat as I bring my mind out of the memory and try to make sense of everything I'm seeing right in front of me. This is one of Damon's hide outs. Stefan said he had figured it out over a year ago by pinging Damon's phone and I see the remnants of the cracked technology over in the center of the room. It hasn't been the sixty plus years I was expecting to have missed out on—it's only been four—yet already I've missed so much. It's something I should've expected knowing what happens when our gang is together. Danger just follows all of us.

Stefan walks over to me, dressed in a distressed jean jacket and black jeans; his scuffed up boots echoing in the empty room. His hand goes to rest on my back and he thinks better of it, bringing his hands to his hips. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

I'm shaken momentarily by those words; the very same I said to Damon in our last moments together when I wasn't sure if he would be able to survive half a lifetime without me. I don't know what I expected to happen to him while I was in that sleeping curse, but it wasn't this. It definitely wasn't this.

"If we're ever going to get him back, I need to know how far he's fallen."

Stefan nods. He knows I would never back down from the scariest sides of Damon. I know this isn't him. He isn't himself and it didn't take Stefan's journal entries that I read on the ride over to tell me that. Something evil is controlling him and I have to figure out a way to save him. It's what we do for each other. Damon always found a way to save me, even when I wasn't okay with his methods.

This place feels empty and hollow and my heart breaks for the sheer lack of emotion that Damon and Enzo must have in order to create these heinous acts. Stefan steps in front of me, blocking me from getting too close to a collection of blood on the floor, the blood that drained from one of their victims. "There was this vault in The Armory."

"That's the place Enzo's father created to hold supernatural artifacts, right?"

"Yes," Stefan agrees, "but it's also an organization; a group of people. They were after Bonnie because she's a Bennett witch. The vault had been sealed for four years and Bonnie opened it and trapped Armory members inside. We thought that would be the end of it but then Bonnie was cursed, Elena. We didn't know what to do. So, Damon…"

I already know the rest, so I finish it for him. "….Damon went in to stop the curse; kill the… Everlasting—that's what it's called right?" Stefan nods. "He went in to save my best friend, save all of you."

He frowns, remembering. "Bonnie was on the phone with him when the curse broke. Everything was fine until suddenly he started acting different."

This is all new information. Until I demanded Stefan take me with him on his latest lead, I hadn't heard the rest of the story. I knew Bonnie had been cursed to kill all vampires—a curse that had befallen her in order to save her life—and that they were all on the run until Damon got the idea to break back into the Armory. I hadn't heard what really did him in; what kept him from getting out. "You have to tell me, Stefan. I need to know."

"He heard you."

My jaw drops. "What?"

"He heard your voice… calling out to him and crying for help. It made him go in deeper, he was searching for you. Damon wouldn't listen to Bonnie, he just kept repeating your name; over and over. Then there was a horrible sound and that was it. That was the last time any of us spoke to him. Well… except for Enzo."

"And now they've killed sixty people for sport," I gasp. "All because he heard me crying out for him; all because he thought he could save me."

This time Stefan does walk over and touch me. His arms are strong and firm as they grasp my shoulders. "This isn't his fault. It's because of whatever monster is inside that vault. It's stripped Damon and Enzo of their humanity."

"But this is so much worse than flipping the switch, Stefan. He's being controlled. That's the only way to explain how he could do all of this. How do we get him back?"

He's silent, his eyes looking around the room to the blood stains, the hooks; his imagination running wild. Stefan was a ripper—something he constantly fights against to this day. I can only imagine the horrors that are running through his head of what his brother is capable of. My imagination must seem pretty tame in comparison and yet it's scaring me. I don't even want to know what Stefan is picturing.

When his eyes fall back on mine I can see the pain in them. "You saved him at a time when I thought he was unredeemable. I'm hoping you're enough this time."

I push forward and close the distance between us and Stefan's arms envelop me. "I hope so, too."

The shrill sound of a phone ringing breaks the moment. We spring apart as Stefan digs into his jacket for his cell phone. He studies the screen from a moment before tapping the screen and bringing it to his ear.

"Caroline?"

Thanks to my vampire hearing I can hear her reply just as clear as if she were standing right next to me. "We have a lead. Several people are missing in Charlotte. It has to be them. Bonnie and I are coming to meet you."

"Are you sure? There have been too many false leads. With vampires and werewolves and now these sirens."

 _Sirens._ I remember when Stefan and Caroline first started telling me about the very thing that was controlling Damon and Enzo. These creatures worked for the Devil himself and fed on the souls of the damned. From the moment I heard their description, I knew why Damon had fallen so easily. He never saw himself the way I did. No one ever believed in him the way I did, and without me there to remind him it was almost a piece of cake.

"Enzo contacted Bonnie, Stefan. He left a clue in a discarded body the police found."

Stefan eyes widen, his head turning up towards the hooks dangling above us. "If Enzo is showing signs of being able to break free from the control than there's hope."

"I don't get it," I whisper, looking around the room. "How can she control them like this? Make them do all of these horrible things?"

My eyes land back on Stefan who is staring at me with sadness in his eyes. "It's mind control, Elena. Deep rooted mind control beyond even what our compulsion is capable of."

"But what is the point of all this… Devil's work? How do we know all these people are damned? What is the line?"

I hear Caroline's voice over the line. "Alaric is looking into it. There's still so much we don't know but we're working on it, Elena."

My hands run through my pin straight hair in frustration, the toe of my Bean Boots digging into the concreate floor. "I just feel so helpless. How do we save them when we don't know how to break the compulsion?"

"We track Damon and Enzo and we capture them. Then we try to figure it out. All we can do is stop the bloodshed."

"Elena," Caroline says over the line, "we're coming. We're all fighting to get them back. We're all playing our parts."

And then I hear Bonnie's voice—a voice I never thought I'd get to hear again. "We have you."

"No pressure," I whisper, trying to cut the tension. It's all becoming a bit too much. They're all putting all their faith in me to free Damon and in turn Enzo. As if one look at me will be enough to break any hold anyone else could have on him. But what if it isn't enough? What if I've been gone too long? What if Damon has fallen too far?

Stefan gives me a look of sympathy. "We'll see you guys soon."

* * *

The drive to Charlotte is mostly spent in quiet, with my nose deep within my friends' diaries—trying to catch up on as much as I can. I ask questions when I need to and relive the moments with them through their own words. Every now and then I find myself making my way back to Damon's diary which only hold a handful of entries but that are filled with such hope and promise of our future and our love that it's giving me the strength to be ready to face him.

 _Whenever that may be._

We split up, Bonnie with Stefan and Caroline with me, as we tackle the crowded streets of Charlotte. We don't know where to start but to compel a couple of law enforcement into giving us answers on the disappearances and some shop owners into giving us some information. By the time we meet back up all we've gathered is that a two people disappeared from a party after heading towards the hotel pool and another three disappeared right from inside a theme park after closing.

Still no closer to finding Damon and Enzo, we decide to head to a local diner and get Bonnie some food. We go over and over the little evidence we have until it's nearly midnight and we're the only patrons left. My head can't possibly take much more of this. I've been awake for days and no closer to seeing or saving Damon than I was when Stefan woke me. We throw some money on the table and head towards the car full of doubt. We drove all this way and we have nothing to show for it. No new leads, no nothing. I'm starting to think we'll never find Damon.

Just as Stefan pulls onto the road we notice a figure laying in the road and my heart leaps. That's Damon's signature—we all know it. He's taught more than half the people in this car that very trick. Only when Stefan skids to stop and we all race out do we notice it's not Damon. Not Damon but rather Enzo.

I can't hold Bonnie back as she launches towards him, her fists pounding against his chest as he stands there and takes it. I can tell by Stefan and Caroline's stance they're both ready should this all turn south. Still not used to the sight of the two of them together, I just stand back in wonder and uncertainty. We don't know which Enzo we're meeting on this empty road. The man Bonnie fell in love with or the one who's been Damon's sidekick these past few years.

"Good to see you, too, love," he says, gripping hold of Bonnie's small frame and pushing her back from him. Enzo's face contorts into pain as he stumbles backwards a few steps before finding his footing. "She's calling me to her. I don't have long."

"Don't go!" Bonnie yells, like it's the most obvious thing in the word. But judging by the pain Enzo is in, it's anything but. Fighting against her is causing him physical agony.

"It's killing you to fight it, isn't it?" I say.

Enzo's brown eyes land on mine and widen. He had been so focused on Bonnie he didn't notice the big surprise of my return. "Oh, I wish I hadn't seen you."

"Why's that?"

He contorts in pain before taking a breath and saying, "Because it's hard enough keeping Bonnie a secret from Sybil. But now I have to hide you, too."

My head cocks. "She doesn't know about me? But I thought she got into Damon's head."

It's something I discovered in Stefan's diary. Something I know he's been ashamed of telling me. I was their only hope. The thought of me was what they hoped would keep Damon tied to his humanity. But with Sybil's discovery of me, that one tie was severely cut.

Enzo gives Bonnie a sad smile. "He was hiding you from her; visiting old memories in his dreams where she couldn't get to you. But then…"

"Then she heard me mention your name," Stefan says.

I whip my head towards the Stefan and see his head hung down in shame, radiating guilt. My words reach him and I see his head lift ever so slightly. "There's no way you could've known. It's not your fault."

"Sybil erased your very existence," Enzo says. "To further secure her hold on him, Sybil placed herself in your place and when she couldn't she had you die at Wickery Bridge. The first time."

"But this is Elena!' Caroline says. "One look at Elena and he'll remember."

"They've overcome worse," Stefan says.

But I'm not so sure. Damon thought the same thing when I erased my memories of him when I thought I had lost him forever. And while the sight of him stirred up feelings inside of me, I still felt the anger from the memories Alaric had made more prominent. It took Damon's determination and me falling in love with him all over again for us to find our way back.

As Damon once put it: _Universe be damned_.

Enzo's head drops. "I hope you're right. Because he's her little pet right now. I only got away because she sent me on a mission."

"A mission?" Bonnie says.

"Yes." He says, looking at her and kissing her quickly. "Look into Cade. Find a way out of this. And Stefan?"

"Yeah?"

Enzo races towards him and snaps his neck, "Sorry, mate."

And with that Enzo disappeared and left us standing in the middle of the roadway. Caroline and I flashed over towards Stefan and checked him really quick before laying him in the backseat. Caroline climbs into the back and lay's Stefan's head on her lap. Knowing Bonnie is in no condition to drive, I hop in the driver's seat and let my best friend gather her thoughts in the passenger seat beside me.

This ride home is much quieter than the drive here, but at least now we have answers.

We have a name.

Cade.

* * *

The car is completely silent. Everyone is sound asleep as I drive aimlessly through the roads of my hometown. I relive the moments I haven't let myself think about since I opened my eyes. I think about everything I've missed, everything that's happened since I've gone. How my town got torn apart and somehow survived. Then my mind starts remembering. All the times Damon saved my life, all the understandings and kisses. All the times I saved him right back. I never told Damon all the way he saved me. How he lit up a fire inside of me that had long since gone dim. He set me on a path right back to him from the first moment we met.

It's why I find myself headed back towards that road before heading towards the boarding house. It's on this road that we met, that I accepted my feelings for him despite my first transition into a vampire, that we said goodbye.

I had expected him to go on without me; for him to protect all the people I love—that he's grown to love too. But I left him with a gaping hole and a prime target for the evil that so quickly grabbed a hold of him. Now the people I wanted him to protect have to find a way to save him.

I have to find a way.

As I hit the very spot we last kissed before everything faded to black, someone suddenly appears before me. I slam hard on the breaks, jolting everyone in the car awake as we all attempt to brace for impact. The moment seems to stretch on forever until finally we come to a jarring halt, all of us gasping for breath as my eyes stay locked on the person in front of me.

He's dressed in fitted jeans and a leather jacket, his shirt a dark shade of grey with a V-neck plunging down to reveal a prominent collarbone. His eyes are surrounded by spider web veins and are dark and feral as they stare into mine. His stance is taut, ready to pounce in a moment; with his hands at his side and fist balled tight.

He's a predator and we are his prey.

Only I know that face, those eyes. His collarbone is one my mouth has kissed a thousand times. My hands have tugged on that raven black hair and my mouth has tugged at those lips that are now pulled back to reveal sharp fangs. The smell of leather and bourbon and woods is strong as strong as ever as I inhale it, remembering when it used to bring my comfort.

I know this man and that face, but the look he's giving me is one I've never been on the receiving end of. I've seen it plenty of times, but never in the years I've known and loved him as that look ever been aimed towards me.

This isn't the man I knew, and yet I know him. I love him.

My heart is pounding inside my ribcage, clawing against the bone to find its way to him.

His face shows no care for me; no love or recognition.

I am his enemy.

"Damon?"

Pushing open the door, I jump out of the driver's seat and race towards him. My friends are yelling at me to stop but none of them can seem to move. We're all stuck in the moment and all I want to do is run into this man's arms and pray that if my face hasn't brought me back to him, my touch will.

But the moment I'm free from the car, he pounces on me, pointed teeth searing into my flesh and piercing my neck. He's expecting me to be weak, human and frail. But I'm not. I'm momentarily lost but my inner warrior, fights her way through my disorientation enough to push him off of me. My shove sends him spiraling into the air and despite his shock, he lands on his feet and stalks towards me again.

My hand clutches my neck which has now been torn open. I can already feel it beginning to heal but Bonnie runs towards me, asking to have a look anyways. Stefan and Caroline are standing in front of us, blocking Damon and ready to fight.

"Damon, it's Elena! That's Elena!" Stefan screams.

"She's awake, Damon! Say you remember her!" Caroline pleads.

"The girl who died off Wickey Bridge? Why would I care enough to remember?"

Stefan takes a cautious step forward. "You love her, Damon. Try to remember."

He shakes his head, taking a menacing step forward. My heart is breaking at the sight of him and yet I just can't seem to look away. "All I know is Sybil wants her dead. I may not have been able to get to her tonight. But I will. See you soon, Elena."

And with that he disappears in a flash, leaving us all broken and alone.

Whatever hope my friends had in waking me up, has dwindled away to nothing.

Now what are we going to do?


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Wreck of Our Hearts**

 **Summary:** Elena's awake but everything has changed. Damon is being controlled by something evil and no one has any idea on how to save him, including her. Plus, Kai may have had one more trick up his sleeve when he cast the Sleeping Beauty spell and no one expected it. (Post Season 7; Continued AU)

 **Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.

 **A/N: Since the response was so positive I've decided to continue with the story! Enjoy! xx**

* * *

Stepping out of the shower, I wrap the maroon cotton towel around my body and squeeze out water from my hair. The mirrors are foggy and I run my hand across it enough to create a window to see myself. I stare at my face, at the frown pulling at my mouth and keep seeing Damon's face as he lunged at my neck. My hand slides up the slender column looking for any trace of the bite but I know there won't be any.

I'm a vampire again. I've healed.

But the memory is still there. Clear and vibrant as if it just happened.

I know the exact place his teeth pricked my skin and drew my blood. I remember the paralyzing shock of the knowledge that he didn't remember me; didn't remember us. I suppose this is all some kind of karma for pleading with Ric to erase the memory of Damon when I thought I'd never see him again. But even when he was gone from my memory, a connection was still there. I still felt drawn to him. Damon didn't have any inkling of even our acquaintance when his eyes landed on my face.

Taking my eyes from the mirror, I go about brushing my teeth and quickly blow drying my hair. After throwing on a pair of yoga pants and a grey zip-up hoodie, I twist my hair up into a messy bun and begin to make my way out of the room to go down the stairs to where I can already hear my friends talking.

"How could this not work?" I hear Bonnie ask. "Elena was our only hope."

I pause outside Damon's room, clutching at the doorway as I hear Stefan sigh. "Sybil's hold on him is just stronger than we thought."

"How did Enzo resist though?" Caroline questions. "He remembers Bonnie. He wasn't gone in all the ways Damon is. And—no offense Bon—but this is Damon and Elena…"

Bonnie expels a breath. "I get it. I don't understand it either. They've always found their way back to each other."

There's silence and then I hear Stefan say, "I was so sure Elena would be enough."

Hearing his words gets to me and I turn my face to look back into Damon's bedroom. It's always been so much different than Stefan's. Stefan's is cluttered with his journals and mementos whereas Damon hung on to very little through his long life. There are a few first editions, some vintage tee's that I know he bought brand spanking new, a photo I stole from his mother's prison world, and a few jewelry pieces he's held on to from 1864.

I used to find it so odd that Damon held on to so very little until I remembered that he never had much he wanted to remember. He fought so long for Katherine only to find out he was being used and much of his life before that was spent alone. Until I came along.

My eyes land on the picture frame beside his bed. It's one of the two of us at my parents' lake house from before he had died—during my amazing summer. I had snapped it from my phone when we had gone up there to escape for a weekend. He's smiling against my face and my eyes are closed in bliss. We look happy and remembering that weekend, I know we were. _We are_. Damon hadn't started hanging on to things until I walked into his life.

Now his room looks lived in; rather than just a place he crashed. That means something.

Photos of us are littered about the room, a stack of cheesy movies lay beside his DVD player from when we stayed inside one rainy day and tried to educate each other on classic films. I know I have several drawers filled with my clothes mixed in with the drawers of his; and his closet isn't just a homage to the different shades of black but full of bright colored tee's and sweaters. The essence of us is bringing more warmth into this room with its deep red sheets and dark furniture than any beam of sunlight through his windows could ever do.

If anyone has any hope of bringing Damon back it's me. And I'm not ready to give up on him just yet.

I flash to just about the base of the stairs, where I take the final few steps at human speed and stroll into the room. Three tired faces look up at me and I see the burning concern and questions they're all attempting to hide; all of it drowning in guilt and pity. They just remembered that I now have vampire hearing.

"Enzo didn't turn his humanity off. That's why Sybil hasn't gotten to him."

Bonnie is nodding her head, agreeing. "But why make Damon forget you? What's the endgame? What's the need to do that if he's already doing her bidding?"

"I'm not sure."

Caroline stands up, her flowy top swaying as she begins to pace around the parlor. "Both of them were Whitmore vampires, right?" At our nods, she continues. "They've faced torture that none of us can even imagine and Enzo only got out of it our Freshman year. Enzo can handle torture. It's possible Damon couldn't."

Stefan looks at me as he says, "It's definitely possible. So Damon gave in quicker—turned off his humanity. Enzo is supporting her purely out of fear. That's why he's capable of blocking Bonnie from Sybil."

"But it doesn't answer the question of why Elena was erased from Damon's memory," Caroline adds, crossing her arms over her body.

My mind is grappling at anything to make sense of this and nothing seems to be enough of a stretch to stick. Even if Damon loves me, Sybil controls him. It's not like Damon knew where I was being hidden and my life wasn't in danger the way Bonnie's can be. Unless maybe there was a way I was. "But Enzo answered that for us, didn't he? He's hiding Bonnie from Sybil. Maybe Damon tried to hide me and she found out."

"But," Bonnie says, "Why hide you? You were—for all intents and purposes—gone, Elena. You weren't a threat to her control on him because of Kai's curse."

Stefan's eyes widen in realization. "Elena is Damon's humanity."

"…Okay?" Bonnie drags out.

"Don't you get it?" he exclaims, stance opening up and gaining all of our attention. "Damon may not have fully given over to Sybil. He was hanging on to the thought of you and Sybil must have found out."

Caroline walks over to him, placing her left hand on his arm. "That's all well and good but with Elena gone from his memory, his humanity went right along with it."

"We still don't know how to pull him back," I add. "He doesn't remember me."

Stefan's arms cross over his body, his one hand lifting to rest against his cheek. "We just have to make him. Somehow we have to get him and help him remember you."

"Where do we even start?"

I want to fight for him, I need to. But there needs to be more of a plan than to just force him to face his humanity. We need more information on how sirens work and how deep their control is on the people they take.

Stefan looks at Bonnie. "We get Enzo."

* * *

"Bonnie's working on Enzo. Our job is to keep Damon and Sybil distracted."

I nod along, eyes scanning around me looking for any sign of Damon and the siren. Caroline filled Alaric in on everything and he managed to find some kind of tuning fork to take Sybil out of commission. They already know we have it, so we're trying to be extra alert. This time I know I'll be ready for when Damon will attack.

Stefan hopes we'll be able to capture Damon too but he isn't banking on it. It was hard enough just to lure them out to their respective places. We're already hoping for a miracle with Enzo and that this all doesn't go south. We can't exactly hope for much more.

We're in the parking lot of an abandoned carnival, a large broken Ferris wheel standing as our backdrop. Stefan stands in the forefront with me a few inches to his left and Caroline is hidden in the Hall of Mirrors to our right, ready for the moment Sybil or Damon gets too close.

The sound of heels against concrete alerts us to the sirens presence.

It's the first time I'm seeing Sybil and I'm not sure what I expected, but it was definitely something more sinister. She looks like some regular girl around the age that Caroline and I are supposed to be. Her hair is chopped to her chin and wavy and she's dressed more for a business meeting than for what is about to transpire here. Despite her appearance, I know exactly what she's capable of and I don't plan on letting my guard down.

Her pursed full lips open up into a faux smile. "You must be Elena."

"And you're Sybil—the siren controlling my boyfriend."

She gives an annoying fake laugh, one sure enough to make me cringe. "I can see what Damon must have loved about you. You have spunk."

My eyes narrow and I'm about to speak when Stefan interrupts me. "Where _is_ my brother?"

"Oh, he'll be here shortly. He had one more errand to run for me."

Stefan's arms cross over his body. "That wasn't the deal. You promised both of you would be here."

She cocks her head at Stefan, smiling. "You think I don't know what you're up to, Stefan Salvatore? You're trying to free Enzo from my clutches by distracting me."

"Not at all," he lies.

That annoying laugh sounds again and my jaw tightens as she speaks. "I've been around a long, long time. I know when I'm being baited."

"Fine," I say. "You're on to us. But be honest—you never really had control over him to begin with, did you?"

Her eyes travel over my body. "He may not be as devoted as Damon but he's served me well. I'm not sure I'm quite ready to let him go."

"Then why come here? Why make yourself vulnerable?"

Her eyes slide upwards for a moment as she smiles to herself. "If I've made myself vulnerable it's because I want you to believe I am. Bonnie Bennett can have her precious Enzo…. if she's capable of breaking my connection over him. But my question is: why save Enzo and not Damon?"

I'm clenching my teeth as I bite the words out. "He doesn't want to be saved."

Sybil's growing smile is reminiscent of every big bad on every show or movie I've ever watched. It's slow and creepy and all-knowing and has me worried. The sight of it makes me nervous for Damon's lateness. My eyes start scanning the area around me.

"Damon was quite an easy candidate for my control; so many demons, so much guilt. I showed him his fiery fate and he gave his soul over to me to prevent it. Little did I know that while his waking hours we're devoted to me, he was hiding out in his dreams."

"His dreams?" Stefan questions.

She begins to look bored, annoyed. "He was escaping to his memories with Elena to hang on to his humanity. Damon was fighting against me. Just took a little tweaking is all."

My eyes land on hers as they shoot daggers at me. "So, that's why Damon didn't remember me."

That brings a smile to her face. "I have to admit; I wasn't quite sure how that would play out. I know all the disgusting details of your little love story and you were an obstacle I didn't expect to have to face for a few decades. However, it seems love truly doesn't concur all."

Her mouth curves downward in a pout before her head lulls back in laughter. The focus of her gaze captures my attention and Stefan and I both quickly twist around to see Damon holding Caroline by the throat with a piece of wood aimed directly at her heart.

"Caroline!" Stefan yells, moving to step forward. I halt him with my hand outstretched, urging him not to act hastily. One wrong move could end my best friend's life for good.

Sybil makes her way towards Damon, smiling like a proud mother. Her fingertips dance long the sleeve of Caroline's coat before flicking at the curls of her blonde hair. "Tsk, tsk… Stefan I really thought we were past these foolish attempts to capture me."

"Just let Caroline go," Stefan speaks. "Hurt me. Not her."

Damon digs the makeshift stake just enough into Caroline's chest to draw blood. She cries out against her attempt to bite her lip and I'm sure Stefan is about to lose it. The cold, heartless eyes of my boyfriend simply stare at us as he smiles, enjoying our pain. The heartbreak in my chest is no match for the anger brewing inside of me. I know what I have to do; it's just a matter of being strong enough to do it.

"This isn't you, Damon," I say.

His eyes narrow, the spider web veins growing from beneath his lower lashes. "It's who I am now."

"Caroline is Liz Forbes daughter. You remember Liz, right? She was your best friend. You once told me that with Liz gone you promised yourself you would always protect her daughter. It doesn't matter who you used to be, Damon. It matters who you are now."

"Aw, how sweet," Sybil says. "Elena is trying to pull out your humanity, Damon. She still hasn't given up on you."

"You haven't experienced, Hell," Damon says, squeezing Caroline's throat and making her gasp for air. "I'll do whatever Sybil asks of me if it prevents me from being on the menu at Cade's barbecue."

My eyes are pleading with him, trying to pull some memory free that's strong enough to shake his beliefs. "The Damon I love wouldn't back down from a fight. He'd go down fighting."

"This is my way of fighting, Elena."

It first sense of truth I've managed to get from him and I cling to it. He believes this is the only way to save his soul, but I know this is from a man who believed he would have to live without me for another fifty or so years.

"Or it's just another way of damning your soul."

The widening of his eyes is all the distraction I need. It's enough to capture Sybil's attention and for his hold on Caroline to lessen ever so slightly. I unclench my fist, letting the tuning fork slide free from sleeve of my jean jacket. Grasping it in my hand, I reach for the metal hammer and before Damon can form the warning to Sybil, I clank the hammer against the fork and watch as Sybil clutches at her ears. She falls to the ground and Damon releases Caroline to catch her. Caroline races into Stefan's arms as I repeatedly hit the fork over and over again.

With each vibration, Sybil's human form begins to change. Her skin turns a dark shade of green and her nails elongate into sharp talons. As she cries out in pain her mouth unhinges like a snake and her screeches pierce all of our ears.

"We need to get out of here!" I yell, starting to step back.

"What about Damon?" Stefan screams. "This is our moment."

Our eyes flicker towards him. Damon's crouched beside Sybil, clutching his own head, shaking it repeatedly and blinking his eyes at an alarming rate. He seems snapped out of whatever control Sybil had on him and this has to be the moment I've been hoping for.

"Damon!" I call, my voice rising above the tuning fork and Sybil's cries. It's like we're in a wind tunnel with the crushing volume and the swirls of pulsing air around us. "Damon!"

His eyes widen and I can sense the hope in his expression as he suddenly forms his mouth to say my name. "Elena?"

It's said so soft and full of hope that my heart soars. It's working. I'm getting through to him.

But then Sybil grasps his temples, meeting his gaze and he goes slack jawed. I'm not ready to give up on him and I find myself screaming his name, yelling above the chaos as I try to reach him, plead with him to come with me and let me save him.

"You're awake," I hear him say and forget to keep my repetitive beat against the fork.

In the brief second of silence, an arrow suddenly hits the arm holding the fork and it clangs to the ground with a final pulsating note. I pull the arrow free, tensing at the pain as my eyes glide over towards Sybil who is still in her horrifying form and clutching at Damon's face.

"Elena, we have to get out of here! Grab the fork and let's go!" Stefan yells.

I look over at Caroline's ashen face and Stefan's fear and decide to agree with him. Despite the brief breakthrough with Damon, I now know there's another enemy hiding nearby. It's too much to risk. If we lose this fork, we lose our only chance at destroying Sybil and getting Damon back. I reach down and grasp the tuning fork and with one last regretful look at Damon who is once again under Sybil's control and starting to rise up and attack me.

Quickly, I flash away from the scene with Stefan and Caroline at my heels.

* * *

Pulling the final splinter of wood from inside Caroline's chest, I deposit it in the small bowl on the coffee table and wipe my hands on the wet rag. Stefan offers Caroline a blood bag and she takes it greedily, sucking down the O negative in a heartbeat. Pun intended.

"I'm so sorry! Damon just came out of nowhere. He got my weapon from me and shot me up with vervain."

I press my hand on her arm. "It's not your fault, Care. We should've expected Sybil would be a step ahead of us even if we were trying to be ahead of her."

"And one good thing came out from today: we know the fork works." Stefan gives her a small smile before bending to kiss her head.

I reach for the fork resting on the table and run my hand along the cool metal. "And we got through to Damon. It was just a moment, but we know he's still in there."

Stefan sits on the arm of the couch beside Caroline, running his hand along her back. "I should of grabbed him before Sybil took him again. That was our moment."

"We'll have another one," I say to him. "We'll be more prepared."

They nod along, agreeing with me. Caroline takes a swallow and says, "I wonder who was helping them. Who shot at Elena?"

I shrug. "It happened so fast. I didn't have a chance to look where it was coming from."

"We'll just need more people in the wings next time," Stefan says.

The front door to the boarding house swings open and Enzo's voice booms. "And that's where I come in."

"You got free?" Caroline and I both say in unison.

"Thanks to this lovely lady."

Bonnie smiles up at him from beside him and grasps his arm in her hands. "We did it together."

Stefan stands up. "Did it go as planned?"

Enzo and Bonnie share a look and I see the understanding in it. I know the plan was to trap Enzo at their old hideout and Bonnie would do whatever it took to break his hold, but she never really went into specifics. She had a plan and besides the where, she didn't really elaborate upon it.

"There were a few bumps, but he broke the hold." Bonnie's smile tells me that's all we're getting from her for now.

Enzo's eye lands on the fork in my hand. "Is that the weapon that can subdue the siren?"

I nod. "It worked. She began to revert back to her original form and Damon managed to break free for a moment."

"Good," Enzo says, smiling to himself. "We're just going to need to find the last piece."

"One more piece?" Caroline says. "There's more?"

"Yes. We'll need to complete it to kill Sybil."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Wreck of Our Hearts**

 **Summary:** Elena's awake but everything has changed. Damon is being controlled by something evil and no one has any idea on how to save him, including her. Plus, Kai may have had one more trick up his sleeve when he cast the Sleeping Beauty spell and no one expected it. (Post Season 7; Continued AU)

 **Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.

 **A/N: Long time no update! Things have been a bit crazy and I needed to step back from TVD for a bit. I've decided that this story won't be a long one. Probably only a few more chapters until completion. I want to work on some fresh stuff than play in the mess of the final few seasons. Anyways... Enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Stefan is staring at me, concern etched into his face. He knows just how desperate this has made us; how I wish there was another way, but there isn't. This is the only thing I can think of doing. The only thing we've all managed to think of in the three hours of discussion before we came here. Caroline, Ric, Bonnie, and Enzo are searching for the final piece to destroy Sybil, but this job has to come from Stefan and me.

I give him a confident nod of my head. "Yes. I got through to him, Stefan. It was only for a moment but it was long enough to show me he's still in there. We have to get him back before he does something he can't come back from. Before he does something he can't forgive."

Stefan purses his lips and hands me the syringe, closing my fingers around it firmly. It's full of vervain—as high a concentration as Ric could work up. Now I just have to get close enough to Damon to make it work.

We know they're close by the influx of missing persons in the area. Whatever Sybil needs to do to change from the terrifying creature she really is into the human form I first met—it requires sacrifice. The warehouse in front of us in the last one we haven't broken into. Unless she's managed to reach her human form this quickly, this is our last shot.

"Let's go," Stefan says, standing and quickly flashing to the large metal doors.

I flash beside him, slide the syringe up my sleeve, and take a deep breath. _Here goes nothing_.

Stefan reaches for the handle and pulls back quickly. He mouths the word "vervain" and bundles up his sleeve and lifts the handle, biting his lip to fight the pain. I ready myself. If there's vervain—it's almost certain this is their hideout. We just have to hope they haven't returned yet.

The door creaks open and the waft of blood and decaying flesh hits me like a freight train. Stefan stumbles back, covering his mouth and nose with his shirt. I give a wary look towards him knowing his past but with a reassuring nod from him, I step forward. When I entered that first empty warehouse back when I first woke up I thought that was the most horrifying thing I could've ever imagined. But this? This is so much worse.

Instead of dry blood stains and chunks of flesh there are mauled bodies hanging from hooks on the ceiling and pools of crimson blood beneath them. Trails of blood lead their way to a pool that is covered with thick iron bars. The water seems calm but there is no way I am stepping towards that edge and risking all of this just to catch a glimpse.

At the sound of the door locking us in, I turn around and see Stefan taking in the sight around us. His eyes land on mine and he seems to waiting for me to break down and scream. Maybe the girl he met outside that bathroom door would have. She was so naïve to the darkness that surrounded and followed her, only having a taste of it through her parents death. But now I know better. I've kissed death and lived time and time again. I've watched Stefan fight his own darkness and I've seen my friend be tortured because of what they've meant to me. I can handle this only because of the strength my past has given me.

"Where should we hide?" I whisper.

His eyes widen at my lack of concern for what's happening around us but points to the rafters above. I follow him towards them and we try our best to hide. All we have left to do is wait for Damon to arrive and hope there won't be any more problems.

Damon doesn't keep us waiting long. He strolls in dragging two people with bite marks on their neck with such a casual walk as if it's a normal occurrence. "Oh, Sybil," he sings.

Sliding the bodies up over the caged pool he quickly hooks the two unconscious men up to chains and lifts them up into the air. I can hear the sound of the water splashing as the creature Sybil is thrashes in her impatience. Damon steps towards a podium and pushes a button to open the cage and slowly drops the bodies into the water.

The thrashing accelerates as Sybil feds on the humans and Damon simply stands there looking bored. When it suddenly stops, Damon presses another button and lifts the carcasses from the pool and it looks more like the contents of a chum bucket than a human body. In the corner of my eye I see Stefan cover his mouth and shake his head.

As the gate over the pool closes, Damon moves the bodies to join the others and I see the blood trickle down to the floor before it suddenly stops. "I don't know who's a sloppier eater: you or my brother."

My hand reaches out to grab Stefan's and I feel the tension in his grip on the rafter. We have to do this now. Before Sybil is able to retake her form and put us in even more danger than we already are with an emotionless Damon on the loose.

I perch myself on the edge and ready myself to jump. Damon's almost directly under us and the moment he is I have to be ready to do this and get out of her before Sybil pulls another trick up her sleeve. Just as I'm about to make my move, Damon's phone rings and he answers it.

"Is she ready yet?" a female voice on the other end says.

Damon pauses under us. "Not quite yet. She's been munching on townies for a week straight and she's still hideous."

"Are you at least attempting to corrupt the innocent? You know it has to be individuals deserving of Hell! Otherwise she could feast on the entire continent and it wouldn't make a difference."

He looks behind him and up at the two new collections. "I talked them both into a pair of leather pants. If that isn't a sin I don't know what is."

"Damon! You need to take this serious. Your brother and his annoying little group delayed us and Cade won't wait much longer. You need to get my sister back to her human form or I'll deliver you to him myself!"

The line goes dead and Damon unfazed slips his phone in his pocket. I can't focus on that conversation and its implications—like the possibility of Sybil's sister being the person who shot my hand—not when I can only focus on getting Damon back. He's right beneath us and I know this is my only chance.

I drop down to the ground and just as I'm poised to jam the needle into Damon's neck I hear my mother's voice. "Elena? Elena, sweetie! Where are you?"

My eyes shift upwards towards the dangling bodies and it's enough to bring Damon's attention to me. He quickly slams me to the ground and pulls a knife towards my throat, ready to slice. I'm struggling to bring the syringe back to his skin but he's prepared now for my vampire strength. He's refusing to let up. His eyes take notice of the needle and smirks at my face.

"Did you really think you could vervain me?"

He slams my hand against the floor and the vervain slides out of my grip. He deepens the knife against my skin and I feel it begin to cut against my throat. "Damon, it's Elena. Don't do this!"

"You mean nothing to me! You're a lie!"

I'm confused by the phrasing but I decide to role with it. "I'm real, Damon! Please!"

All of sudden I see Stefan over Damon and the syringe in his throat. Damon's eyes begin to droop and I quickly pull the knife away from my throat. As Stefan lets Damon's body slump to the ground he stares at my throat and my hand lifts to feel the dampness there.

"It'll heal," I say.

Stefan suddenly covers his ears and I'm confused until I hear my mother's voice once again. He sees me looking around again and yells, "It's Sybil! She's feasting on your memories! It's not real! Let's get out of here!"

I can only stare at him in disbelief. It sounds so real like she is in this room with me. But then I remember what Stefan said about Damon hearing my voice in the tunnels and that's how Sybil captured him. I ignore the sound of my mother's pleas and grab Damon just as I see a clawed hand reach out of the pool and the sound of the cage breaking.

"Let's go! Now!"

* * *

I lean against the door to the dungeon my knees bent against my chest and my head resting against the metal door. We injected Damon with a few more doses of vervain to keep him knocked out while we made the trip home to Mystic Falls. It gave me plenty of time to shower and wash away the stench of the warehouse off my body. My hair is still wet and scrunched up in waves and I have on a pair of sweatpants and one of Damon's t-shirts that he always loved on me.

I'm too drained from the day to even notice when Stefan and Enzo step forward. It takes Enzo's accented voice to snap me out of listening to Damon's breathing. "Elena, are you sleeping?"

Shaking my head, I ask, "Are we ready? His breathing is becoming more erratic. He should be up any moment."

"Ready as we'll ever be."

Stefan helps me up and unlocks the door and we all step inside just as Damon groggily lifts his head to speak. "You never did play fair, brother."

"There was no reasoning with you. This was the only choice."

"There's always another choice."

"Oh really, mate?" Enzo says, leaning against the wall. I'm still hiding in the back against the door, afraid to meet his eyes. I still have his face as he dug the knife into my skin playing before my eyes. "What other choice was there?"

Damon coughs and says, "You could've let me kill her."

My eyes suddenly snap up and meet his. There's so much hatred in them that I fight against staggering back. I need to be strong enough to fight for us. Like Damon did for me.

"And deal with your grief when you finally snap out of this compulsion?" Stefan says. "Do you remember what you put me through over Katherine's supposed death?"

"And a staggering example of why emotions are useless."

Enzo begins to move behind him, hitching one leg to rest on a stool. "Now you and I both know what bullshit that is."

"Damon?" I say, stepping forward to stand beside Stefan. "Do you remember Ric removing my memories?"

He lets out another cough. "As far as I know you're some dead girl who somehow became a vampire. My brother must have had something to do with it."

"Actually I first became a vampire because of your blood inside of me." I don't get into the specifics of my drowning—it's not important—he just needs to know the highlights. "We fell in love. At first you didn't believe it was real but then I proved it was. We had an amazing summer and a year that tested us and then you died and it shattered me. I couldn't handle it so I had Ric erase my memories."

Damon studies my face, looking for any trace that I may be lying to him. His mind has been played with in such a way that up until this mind he only believed one truth—that I didn't mean anything to him. Now he's being proven otherwise.

His eyebrow lifts. "Is that my shirt?"

My hand automatically goes to the fabric and I pinch it between my fingers. The blended cotton shirt feels soft against my skin and I look down to it remembering all the mornings I slipped it on and padded down the stairs to find Damon making breakfast for me.

I nod, knowing I need to change tactics. Telling him our memories won't help any more than hearing them did for me. He needs something tangible he can hold on to. "Do you remember what happened at the carnival?"

With a tilt to his head, he says, "You tried to destroy Sybil."

"But do you remember what you said when I was hitting the fork?"

Damon's face fills with confusion. "What?"

I step closer, bend slightly to fill his eyesight. "You said my name, Damon."

His eyes search my face, looking for familiarity. He seems to be looking through me to the very heart and all I can do is wait. Wait to see if he remembers or if all hope is loss. I'm not sure how much long I can keep my strength up. Ever since I opened my eyes from the Sleeping Beauty Curse it's like my sole purpose has been to get Damon back.

But what do I do if I can't?

"You're… awake."

Nodding, I step closer to him and fight the urge to jump into his arms. "Yes, Damon. I'm awake. Do you remember me?"

He goes to reach for his head but his hands are tied and he begins to struggle against the restraints. With a groan he says, "None of this makes any sense!"

Stefan steps in front of me and grabs Damon by the shoulders. "Focus, Damon! Focus on Elena."

"It's too much!" he screams.

Enzo grabs hold of his shoulders and motions me forward. "Grab his temples." I do as I'm told and look up to him for more information as Damon begin thrashing against us. Stefan injects him with another vial of vervain "Get into his head. Show him your memories."

I shake my head. "I've never done this before! I don't know if I'm strong enough!"

"You are, love. Just close your eyes and feel your way through."

Closing my eyes, I press harder against his temples and try to compel my way inside. Damon is no longer thrashing and has become limp in the chair. I see a jumble of visions playing inside of his mind—the real memories followed by the ones Sybil twisted and changed. Knowing I need to take control, I grab on to the first memory that I can and take us there.

Suddenly, I'm standing beside Damon as we watch a past version of him lying on the ground, staring up at the stars. My voice begins to carry over from a distance and I watch as this version of Damon's head twists towards it. "This is usually when Sybil brings me over."

Cautiously, I reach for his hand. Damon looks down and slowly takes it letting me bring him toward the road where we first met. I see our past selves engage in a first awkward than flirtatious conversation. Then past Damon makes me forget and flashes off.

I watch as the old version of me seems confused until my parents car pulls over and honks. The image starts to get grainy and I squeeze Damon's hand hard to continue it from my point of view. "This is when my parents car goes over Wickery Bridge."

"And you die."

I shake my head. "Watch."

We follow the car and as the bridge approaches I start to get nervous, I've relived this moment a thousand times but never as an observer. We watch as the car hits a slick patch in the road and my father loses control and crashes into the water. Damon and I step to the edge and watch as the car submerges and I can feel the tears start to fall from my eyes.

"There's Stefan," Damon whispers, pointing towards the embankment.

I turn and see Stefan jump into the water and in a few moment emerge carrying my limp body. He begins doing CPR until I'm coughing up water and disappears into the water again. I already know what he's going to find. My parents. Dead.

"My brother saved you?" Damon finally says as we begin to hear the sirens approach.

Wiping away my tears with my free hand, I say, "Yes. My parents were trying to get me out of town that night because a vampire named Klaus was after me and Bonnie's mother had told them that he was getting close to discovering me."

"But he did discover you."

I nod.

"John Gilbert sacrificed himself to make sure you would live."

Frowning, I whisper, "And then Stefan sacrificed himself so that you would."

"But we got him back and your relationship fell apart."

"Why?" I ask, grasping our clasped hands with my other hand and turning my body towards him.

His brows furrow. "Because you fell in love with me and Stefan couldn't accept you as a vampire."

"And who could?" I push.

Damon's eyes meet mine and there's brightness in them that wasn't there before. "Me. I was fine with you either way. I loved you no matter what."

The area around us begins to change and I compel it to and suddenly were standing back in that same road we met only now the past versions of ourselves are swaying in each other's arms. Beside me Damon's eyes widen with recognition and our voices carry over the breeze.

"I love you, Damon Salvatore."

"I love you."

And right as past Damon dips the version of me in his arms and kisses me; I pull out of his memory and we're back in the dungeon again. I step back and Damon's eyes are still closed; still under the effects of vervain.

Stefan touches my shoulder. "Did it work? Does he remember?"

"I think so. He was piecing it all together. We won't know if he believes it until he wakes up."

Enzo steps towards me. "Why don't you go get some rest? I'll come get you when he's awake."

I nod feeling my body becoming overwhelmed with exhaustion. "Wake me right when he wakes up."

He nods and with one last look towards Damon, I make my way upstairs to his bedroom.

* * *

The feeling of feather light kisses tickling my neck stirs me awake. My eyes open to see Damon above me, frowning as he looks down at my neck. His hand lifts and brushes against the column of my neck along the line where his knife kissed my throat and at the base where his teeth dug into my vein.

"Damon?" I whisper.

"There's no marks."

My hand moves to dance along his forearm. "I'm a vampire again."

He shakes his head, slowly. "How?"

I shrug. "I guess Kai had another trick up his sleeve." I move to sit up more and notice he's perched at the edge of the bed. "It doesn't matter, Damon. What matter is if you're okay…? Are you?"

His head drops and I pull him towards me in an embrace. He whispers against my skin. "I'm terrified, Elena."

"It's okay. She doesn't control you anymore."

A heavy sigh unloads more of his weight on my shoulders. "I'm still scared. When she showed me Hell… What it was like? Elena, I can't go back there."

"I won't let that happen. We'll get rid of Sybil, Cade… whoever comes in our way."

Damon pulls back and meets my eyes. "Enzo said you completed the weapon but I need to talk to everyone. There's something you all need to know before we do this."

"Then let's go talk to them."

"Elena," he says, "I can't lose you again."

And reminiscent of a moment long ago in this very room, I say the same words I promised him then: "You won't."


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: Wreck of Our Hearts**

 **Summary:** Elena's awake but everything has changed. Damon is being controlled by something evil and no one has any idea on how to save him, including her. Plus, Kai may have had one more trick up his sleeve when he cast the Sleeping Beauty spell and no one expected it. (Post Season 7; Continued AU)

 **Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.

* * *

"The woman who shot Elena when she was holding the fork is Sybil's sister, Seline. I'm using the term loosely. Their only connection is abandonment issues and luring people to their deaths."

Bonnie, Enzo, Stefan, Caroline, and I all stare at him as he finishes telling the story of his time with Sybil and everything she made him do. We've heard pieces of it from Enzo but Damon was closer and has more details since he let her have full control. From how she lured her victims to what the endgame was, Damon reveals it all.

"She's setting up for something big and I think it involves Mystic Falls."

"It's because of the Ley Lines," Enzo butts in. "And something to do with Donovan's family history."

Damon nods. "The tuning fork is part of a bell. Something Officer Do-Right's ancestors created to kill sirens. It was then changed to bring on Hellfire. And guess where that bell is today?"

"Hanging in the bell tower," I blurt out, clutching my necklace. "If Hellfire comes to Mystic Falls everything will be destroyed."

"And that's what Cade wants—what Sybil and Seline are helping him do. He wants more souls to torture. He wants to walk this Earth and claim it as his own."

Bonnie stands up. "Then we have to stop him!"

Enzo walks towards her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. "We will. We know their plan and we can stop it."

"It requires Bonnie's help," Damon says, solemnly.

Enzo's eyes go wide. "Excuse me?"

With a deep sigh, Damon strolls over towards me and relaxes against the arm of the couch I'm sitting on. "It was a Bennett witch who spelled the tuning fork to kill sirens. Those witches who adore me at that house? That big horrific death that killed them was their attempt at stopping Sybil the first time. They're the ones who cursed her to remain in those tunnels."

"So I need to get the hellfire away from Mystic Falls and revert it back to Hell," Bonnie says as if she's taking down a recipe.

"And that should in turn destroy it."

Enzo's eyes go wide. "And are you not concerned for your wellbeing, love?"

Bonnie's face is stern when she says, "It's my responsibility. I have to."

"There has to be another way!"

Damon's eyes drop to the floor as he says, "There isn't."

"When is this happening?" Stefan asks.

"Soon. They're preparing for it as we speak."

Caroline stands up. "Then we need to be prepared to stop them."

The front door bursts open and Alaric comes bolting in completely distraught. "They took the girls."

An audible gasp reverberates in the room. It's Caroline who steps forward, shaking her head. "How is that possible? Bonnie spelled the house."

"She took them," Ric says, falling to his knees. It's then that I notice the blood trailing from his hairline, smell the thick scent of it in the air. "We trusted her and she took them."

"The nanny? Ric…" Caroline's eyes go wide. "Seline! Oh, my God. Seline."

"Seline was your nanny?" I ask.

Caroline quickly pulls out her phone and slides through pictures and holds it up for Damon to see. "Is that Sybil's sister?"

Damon nods. "They must need their syphoning magic for the spell to bring Cade here. It's happening today."

"Oh, no…" Caroline cries. "She messed with the wrong vampires kids."

I place my hand on her shoulder. "We'll stop them, Care. We'll get your girls."

"So," Stefan says stepping forward. "What's the plan?"

"First things first," Damon announces. "We get Matt Donovan here."

* * *

"I feel like we should be there with Bonnie."

Damon wraps his arms around me. "It's not safe for us. This is something she has to do alone."

"Plus," Stefan adds, "we need to take care of the Devil himself."

"And you don't want to be with Caroline?" I ask.

Stefan sighs. "I want to but Caroline, Enzo, and Ric have the sirens handled. This needs to be precise. We all have a job to do."

"And you've come to defeat me," a voice says in the darkness.

I step out of Damon's arms and we all steady ourselves. We need to prolong this fight until precisely the exact moment when he'll be at his most vulnerable: when Bonnie defeats the Hellfire and when Caroline and Ric get their kids back.

"Who knew the Devil would be afraid to show his face?" Damon taunts.

I feel a breath at my ear and then a voice that makes me want to crawl out of my skin. "Boo!"

As I move to jump away, Cade grabs me and Stefan and Damon instantly freeze. I can sense Damon's fear as he stares at the devils arms on my body. But there's one thing neither of them expected, I came prepared. The stake slides free from my forearm and I jam it into Cade's thigh. The unexpected pain halts whatever monologue he was about to spit out and he releases me. With a hard shove against him, I propel myself towards Stefan and Damon.

"I underestimated you," Cade says, through the pain.

My eyes narrow. "You wouldn't be the first."

He pulls the stake free with a grunt and reaches into his breast pocket for a handkerchief and begins to clean off his blood meticulously. "No, I wouldn't. I've been waiting for the elusive Elena Gilbert for a long time but you keep escaping me."

"Elena's soul isn't damned," Damon grunts through gritted teeth.

"Oh, is it not? Have we forgotten that though small, Elena has her own little trail of bodies to atone for? Connor? Kol? Jesse? The victims you've fed on?"

"Because Connor and Kol are examples of innocent victims," Damon's says, incredulously.

"She still killed them. It's still a death at her hands."

Cade discards the handkerchief and plays with the stake in his hands, smirking. He's dressed elegantly in a grey suit and if he wasn't trying to bring Hell on Earth, I'd think Cade and Elijah would get along pretty well.

Stefan puts his hand out, trying to settle the tension. "She was protecting her brother and mine. None of those kills were unjustified."

"Unlike yours, Stefan Salvatore. You enjoy the kill and toy with your victims."

"Are you here to bore us to death?" Damon says, drawing Cade's attention. "We're all perfectly aware of our crimes."

"And you would think the Great Damon Salvatore would be a little more careful considering the little taste of Hell he felt."

"If protecting this town and the people I love means an eternity of misery for me than so be it."

My eyes snap to Damon and I see the resolve on his face. Gone is the fear I felt in his bed when he confessed how absolutely terrified he was to return back to Hell. This Damon is in protective mode and he'll do anything in his power to make sure Cade doesn't win.

"Then let us begin."

Cade opens up his arms in a sweeping gesture and Stefan and Damon waste no time in flashing towards him. I follow suit and make it my only goal to remove the stake from his hand. It's chaotic and confusing and despite the three of us teaming up to take Cade down he's somehow continuing to have the upper hand. It's to his advantage that we can't kill him just yet.

At some point during the fight, Cade manages to take advantage of me and pierces the stake into my abdomen. Stefan quickly pushes me aside as Damon roars in anger and manages to press him back against the ground. The piercing pain of the wood in my stomach takes my focus and I slowly pull it free. I give myself a moment to regain my strength but without blood it's not going to be as it was before.

As I'm about to jump back in, Cade suddenly screams out in agony and at the tail end of his cry my phone begins to ring. It's Bonnie's ringtone and I quickly grab it, looking as Stefan and Damon have Cade right where we want him.

"Bonnie?"

"It's done, Elena! The Hellfire has wiped out whatever world Cade existed in. Sybil and Seline are dead! Do it now!"

"We're on it!" I scream, and slide the phone back into my pocket.

As I quickly stand, I reach for the stake and stalk towards Cade. Damon and Stefan have him on his back, completely vulnerable and it's now or never. He's weakened and his reign on my town has come to an end. I poise the stake over his heart and whisper the words, "I hope you never find peace" as I drive the stake home.

Cade cries out as thunder and lightning roll overhead. Fire begins to burst from inside of him and Damon quickly grabs hold of me to pull me back as he and Stefan flash backwards. The Devil's body is engulfed in flames until he is nothing but ashes on Earth.

"Is he really gone?" I ask.

Stefan nods. "I better call Caroline."

He pulls up his phone and puts Caroline on speaker. My best friend's voice fills the space. "Stefan? Are you okay?"

"We all are. Cade's gone. Are the girls safe?"

"Yes! Sybil and Seline we're using them to bring Cade's power up from Hell. Ric was concerned he would become too powerful for you."

"Thanks for the faith in our abilities, Blondie," Damon chides.

Stefan ignores him. "We took advantage of him just as Bonnie defeated the Hellfire. We couldn't have done it without her."

"We're catching up with her now. Do you want to meet back at the Boarding House?"

"We'll see you there."

He hangs up and we all start heading towards the car. Damon grabs my hand then and halts my steps, pulling me towards him. He stands mesmerized by the patterns his thumb is drawing on my hand. "Do you think things will ever quiet down? That it won't always be life or death with us?"

I give him a smile. "There was that one summer."

The corners of his mouth lift. "You mean when my brother was drowning?"

Frowning, I wrap my arms around him. "You know what I meant. This is our life, Damon; full of adventure and danger, but also happiness and love. It's a balance and I can handle the bad stuff as long as you're by my side."

Damon brings his forehead to mine. "How could I ever forget you?"

"You didn't. Deep down you still remembered me."

He sighs. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Elena."

I shake my head at him and bring my mouth to his. "It wasn't you, Damon. I know it wasn't you."

"Are you two coming?" Stefan interrupts.

Damon just stares at his brother. "Can I have a moment to appreciate that we're not dead?"

I let out a laugh and kiss his cheek. "Let's go home, Damon."

And we did. To enjoy this happiness while it lasted.

* * *

 ** _Over a century later…_**

* * *

"I never thought this day would come."

I squeeze Damon's hand and wrap my arm tighter around his. "Really?"

He sighs, fixing his tie. "Nope. You just can't keep a Bennett down." Damon kisses my temple. "How are you doing?"

I give a little sniffle as I stare down at the tombstone with my best friends name written on it. We had to mess with the birth year a little—seeing as she lived longer than any human should, but seeing her name carved into the stone is one of the most painful things I've had to experience. "It still hurts but I know she lived a good life. She found love and had adventures. She couldn't let magic keep her alive forever. It was time."

He nods, bending down to brush off dirt from Enzo's name. Bonnie stayed alive as long as she could for Enzo and they had a wonderful life but the moment the magic caught up with her we all knew it wouldn't be long before Enzo went too. The moment Bonnie's heart stopped beating Enzo removed his ring and let the sun take him. Damon made sure to take his ashes and lay them to rest beside the woman he loved.

"Do you think she found peace?"

Damon's arm wraps around me. "Peace?"

"Yeah, Anna once said that's where Jenna was. She said that those who didn't make it to the Other Side found peace and well we destroyed the Other Side."

Squeezing my shoulder, he says, "I'm sure of it."

"I just need to know she's somewhere good and not in a void all alone."

Damon turns me towards him. "She lived a good life, Elena. She went peacefully in her sleep. She had no more regrets. Believe me."

"I know. I'm just feeling anxious."

Tucking my hair behind my ear, he asks, "Why?"

"Because this overwhelming sense of forever just hit me. When Matt, Ric, and Tyler died it was hard, and Jeremy's death was excruciating, but Bonnie was my last real connection to my human life. She's gone and now there's nothing to measure time by. It's just stretching out before me; endless and never-ending."

He cradles my face and moves to meet my eyes. I can feel the tears streaming down my face and I move my hands to wipe them harshly away. I have no idea where this fear and pain is coming from. It isn't like I'm alone in this world. I have Caroline, Stefan, and most of all Damon. We've built up a strong camaraderie over the century stronger than it was in those first few years of navigating eternity.

"This isn't cutting ties to your human life. I've been a little busy over the past century and when this is all over I have a little surprise for you."

I cock my head at him but he tells me to be patient as we see Caroline and Stefan walking towards us. We gather together and say goodbye to our friends.

* * *

"Are your eyes still closed?"

"Yes," I smile, tugging on the scarf he's wrapped around my head.

"No peeking!"

With a laugh, I promise, "Okay, okay."

I feel Damon pull me over a curb and I hear the sound of our feet hitting the sidewalk. Damon's heartbeat quickens as he takes a breath and says, "Ready?"

"I've been ready for hours," I tease, my fingers twisted in the skirt of my floral dress.

"Here goes nothing," he whispers as he pulls the scarf free.

My eyes adjust to the bright light and suddenly the last thing I ever expected to see is suddenly in my view. It's just how I remembered it before it lit up in flames. The wrap around porch, the creaky swing, the black painted shutters and door. There's fresh flowers planted in the garden surrounding the baskets of plants hanging from the porch. Damon has spent the past century rebuilding my family home.

"How did you…? When did you…? Damon, I'm in shock!"

I feel his smile as he comes up from behind me and wraps his arms around me, crushing his body to mine. "Every time we've visited Bonnie and Caroline at the school I worked on it a little here and there."

"You did all this yourself?"

Damon shrugs. "I wanted to build something for you with my bare hands."

"This is amazing," I say in awe. "I can't believe you did this!"

"I'm sorry it took so long. I'm not as crafty as I thought." He laughs, this light carefree sounds that tickles my heart and has me smiling wide. The past decade has been the happiest I've ever seen Damon in my entire time knowing him. "Stefan was right. I barely knew how to whittle. What was I thinking attempting this?"

I turn around and I press my mouth to his and kiss him hard, wrapping my arms around his neck and making my body melt against his. I lose myself in the happiness of this moment and the kindness of this man's heart. He used to be considered a villain and cruel but I always saw the love he had inside of him. The things he could be capable of if someone just believed in him.

Like I do.

"Can we go inside?" I ask, pulling away.

"Of course! But there's a catch…"

I cock my head at him and he sweeps me up in his arms to carry me over the threshold. When we step inside I see it's completely vacant save for a candlelit dinner for two on a foldout table and chairs and an air mattress set up in front of the TV that's hooked up to a laptop that has Netflix set up and ready to go.

"You're all prepared."

"Always," he smiles, placing me on my feet.

Taking his hand, I guide him towards the air mattress and pull him down on to the bed with me. "Do you mind if we skip dinner to christen the place first?"

"Elena Gilbert, you are my complete match in every possible way."

I slap his chest as I slide free the buttons of his shirt. "It's Elena Salvatore now."

Laughing, he says, "Pardon me, Mrs. Salvatore, I'm just remembering a different time on a familiar porch with a human girl and a kiss that changed everything."

"What do you say we role play?" I whisper, kissing down his chest as he slides me out of my dress. "Human and vampire."

"I'm always up for role playing." He winks, positioning himself between my legs and sliding off his jeans.

With a smirk, I shake my head. The moment he's completely as bare for me as I am for him, I turn him on his back in one quick flash so I'm straddling him. My fangs expose themselves as I pin him down and bring my face close to his neck. "But this time you're the confused frail human and I'm the cocky tormented vampire."

I nip at his neck, exposing drops of blood that roll down the column of his neck. My tongue laps it up as I position myself over him. With Damon's help, I slide over him and we begin moving together as one. I can tell he's holding back, relinquishing control to me and playing his role as the weak human perfectly.

But with each movement it's becoming too much and I need to feel him with me. I want the two of us as we are now: equals. "I want you, Damon. Be you."

"As you wish," he teases, flipping our bodies so he's hovered over me, moving inside of me and driving me wild with every thrust. My hands dig into his back, pushing his body closer to mine until I have no idea where our bodies become our own. For this moment or forever we're one.

We come together with muffled gasps and promises, a screaming of names and vows.

For a while after we just lay there in the aftermath still kissing and tangled together. I'm not sure I ever want this to end. And now I know why the concept of forever isn't so scary for me. Because forever means an eternity with the one I love.

Despite all the pain and wreckage to our hearts we finally found our way back to each other just like we always will.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's it! The final chapter. I had planned to take this further and delve into this world longer but then the final few episodes aired and the inspiration for this just went out the window. That's why this four chapter fic took for-freaking-ever! It's short but sweet and I hope you enjoyed it despite the quick ending.**

 **I have a few story ideas I'm working on so you should see something new soon ;) Be on the lookout!**


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